Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 28, is a piano sonata in D minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff, completed in 1908. It is the first of three “Dresden pieces”, along with Symphony No. 2 and part of an opera, which were composed in the quiet city of Dresden, Germany. It was originally themed after Goethe’s tragic play, Faust, and although Rachmaninoff abandoned the idea soon after beginning composition, traces of this influence can still be found. After numerous revisions and susbstantial cuts made at the advice of his colleagues, he completed it on April 11, 1908. Konstantin Igumnov gave the premiere in Moscow on October 17, 1908. It received a lukewarm response there, and remains one of the more underperformed of Rachmaninoff’s works.

It has three movements, and takes about 35 minutes to perform. The sonata is structured like a typical Classical sonata, with fast movements surrounding a slower, more tender second movement. The movements feature sprawling themes and ambitious climaxes within their own structure, all the while building towards a prodigious culmination. Although this first sonata is a substantial and comprehensive work, its successor, Piano Sonata No. 2 (Op. 36), written only 4 years later, became a much more enduring and regarded work.

The piece is structured as a typical sonata in the Classical period: the first movement is a long Allegro moderato (moderately quick), the second a Lento (very slow), and the third an Allegro molto (very fast).

1. Allegro moderato

The substantial first movement Allegro moderato presents most of the thematic material and motifs revisited in the later movements.

Juxtaposed in the intro is a motif revisited throughout the movement: a quiet, questioning fifth answered by a defiant authentic cadence, followed by a solemn chord progression. This densly thematic expression is taken to represent the turmoil of Faust’s mind.

1. Lento

Although the shortest in length and performance time, the second movement Lento provides technical difficulty in following long melodic lines, navigating multiple overlapping voices, and coherently performing the detailed climax, which includes a small cadenza.

1. Allegro molto

Ending the sonata is the furious third movement Allegro molto.

Rachmaninoff played early versions of the piece to Oskar von Riesemann (who later became his biographer), who did not like it. Konstantin Igumnov expressed interest upon first hearing it in Moscow, and following his suggestion Rachmaninoff cut about 110 bars.

The sonata had a mediocre evaluation after Igumnov’s premier in Moscow. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov had died several months previously, and the burden of heading Russian classical music had fallen on this all-Rachmaninoff programme of October 17, 1908. Although the concert, which also included Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Chopin (Op. 22, 1903), was “filled to overflowing”, one critic called the sonata dry and repetitive, however redeeming the interesting details and innovative structures were.

Today the sonata remains less well-known than Rachmaninoff’s second sonata, and is not as frequently performed or recorded. Champions of the work tend to be pianists renowned for their large repertoire. It has been recorded by Alexis Weissenberg, John Ogdon, Howard Shelley (as part of his supposedly complete Rachmaninoff recordings for Hyperion Records), and Livia Rev (likewise for Naxos Records). Leslie Howard also carries it in his repertoire.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By John Ogdon

part 1/5 (II)

part 2/5 (I)

part 3/5 (II)

part 4/5 (III)

part 5/5 (III)

Piano Sonata Op. 28 No. 1 in D minor sheet music

Tags: Alexis Weissenberg, John Ogdon, piano, rachmaninov, sheetmusic, sonata